Starter quiz
- 'Walking Away' is thought to be semi-autobiographical. Who did Cecil Day-Lewis write the poem for?
- his son ✓
- his father
- his grandfather
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- Which of these key ideas would you not associate with 'Letters from Yorkshire'?
- distance
- nostalgia
- friendship
- bereavement ✓
- longing
-
- Barrett Browning wrote 'Sonnet 29' during the Victorian era. This society was known for being...
- patriarchal ✓
- patronising
- patented
- Petrarchan
- petulant
-
- When did the Romantic period occur?
- 17th - 18th century
- 18th - 19th century ✓
- 19th - 20th century
- 20th - 21st century
-
- In 'Eden Rock', the "light" shining through the mother's hair presents her as kind and gentle because it could symbolise that she has...
- a light within her.
- positive thoughts about her family.
- happiness in her heart.
- an angelic glow about her. ✓
- hope for her child
-
- Which word in the title 'Before You Were Mine' is a possessive pronoun?
- Before
- You
- Were
- Mine ✓
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Exit quiz
- The poem 'Singh Song!' is written by Daljit...
- 'Nagra' ✓
- Daljit Nagra was born in the UK but his parents were born in India. As such he is a ...
- first-generation immigrant.
- second-generation immigrant. ✓
- third-generation immigrant.
-
- The poem 'Singh Song!' is a ...
- ballad.
- dramatic monologue. ✓
- sonnet.
- haiku.
-
- Starting with the first, put these events from the poem 'Singh Song!' in chronological order.
- 1⇔Introduces the speaker who runs one of his dad's shops.
- 2⇔When no one is around he locks up and goes upstairs to see his wife.
- 3⇔They share food and make love.
- 4⇔His customers grow frustrated calling it the 'worst' shop in the town.
- 5⇔He hears his wife upstairs, where she runs a dating site.
- 6⇔His wife wears both Western and Punjabi dress and argues with his parents.
- 7⇔At night Singh and his wife visit the shop alone and exchange romantic comments.
- Andeep said 'It seems to me that Singh's father doesn't really trust him'. What evidence from 'Singh Song!' could best support this?
- The fact that Singh's dad has many shops but Singh only runs 'one'. ✓
- The fact that Singh's wife often argues with his parents.
- The fact that Singh's wife wears Western and Punjabi dress.
- The fact that Singh's wife runs a dating website.
-
- Which of the below are reasonable themes of the poem 'Singh Song!'?
- Generational conflict ✓
- Immigration and assimilation ✓
- Romantic love ✓
- Nature and the natural world
- Prejudice and immigration
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Worksheet
Presentation
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The speaker works in his fathers' shop and lives with his wife and parents above the shop.
- The speaker often neglects his work in the shop and receives complaints from customers.
- The wife is unconventional and has an acrimonious relationship with her husband's parents.
- The speaker and wife have a very close, loving and intimate relationship.
- Although the poem is not autobiographical it does echo some aspects of Nagra's own life.
Common misconception
Singh's wife is presented exclusively as a sweet and gentle character.
Although Singh does speak softly of his wife, she also has a fierce streak. This is shown when her eyes are described as like 'guns' and through the description of her arguments with Singh's parents.
Keywords
Dramatic monologue - a poem written in the form of speech from an individual character.
Pun - a humorous use of a word or phrase that has several meanings or that sounds like another word.
First-generation immigrant - a person who was born in a different country to the one they currently live in.
Second-generation immigrant - a person who is born in a country to a parent/parents that were not born in that country.
'punglish' - a colloquial term for language that is a mixture of Punjabi and English.